‘Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’ Captivates Audiences, Raking in $52M in China and $730M Worldwide
The global box office continues to shine brightly with the success of 'Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle', a critically acclaimed anime film. This weekend, the film made a substantial $52.4 million in China, marking a significant milestone in its worldwide total of $730 million. Despite the recent geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Tokyo, the film's word-of-mouth has been overwhelmingly positive, with audiences embracing the captivating story and stunning visuals.
'Infinity Castle' has already broken several box office records. It currently ranks as the fifth-biggest global release of 2025, the top-performing Japanese movie ever at the worldwide box office, and the highest-grossing international film ever in North America, surpassing the long-standing record holder, 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'.
The film's success was particularly notable on IMAX screens during its debut in China. It generated $11.5 million in the giant-screen format, accounting for 25% of the nationwide total. This achievement also marked the biggest IMAX opening weekend ever for a Japanese feature in China and the second-largest IMAX debut for an animated film in the country, behind only 'Ne Zha 2', the current global box-office champion.
'Demon Slayer' (Kimetsu no Yaiba) is based on the wildly popular manga by Japanese artist Koyoharu Gotouge. The franchise took off after the debut of its first TV anime adaptation in 2019, quickly becoming one of Japan's most beloved pop-culture exports. The story follows Tanjiro Kamado, a kind-hearted boy who becomes a 'demon slayer' after his family is murdered and his younger sister Nezuko is transformed into a demon. With lavish animation from Tokyo studio Ufotable and an emotionally charged narrative, the franchise soared with its first feature film, 'Mugen Train', which grossed over $500 million worldwide in 2020, a remarkable feat during the pandemic's peak.
In contrast to the waning appeal of Hollywood imports, Japanese anime has consistently dominated the Chinese box office. Over the past few years, Japanese animated features like 'Suzume', 'The First Slam Dunk', and 'Spy x Family Code: White' have consistently outperformed big-budget U.S. studio releases, thanks to China's young, online-savvy audience, which has made anime a blockbuster content category worldwide in recent years.
'Infinity Castle' is the first installment in a planned trilogy adapting the 'Final Battle' arc, which concludes the 'Demon Slayer' saga. This strong start highlights Sony's strategic approach to building a global anime pipeline. Analysts view 'Demon Slayer's' success as a clear validation of Sony's investment in its Crunchyroll anime division, which has evolved from a niche streaming platform into a cornerstone of Sony's content ecosystem. The anime business has become a pivotal part of Sony's broader strategy to capitalize on Japan's most popular cultural exports, including gaming IP and anime, to achieve consistent global box-office success.
